This invention relates to decoys in general and more particularly to an improved decoy holder assembly for deploying a plurality of decoys in a realistic and natural formation.
Decoys have been used extensively by hunters to attract duck, geese and other fowl. The decoys float on top of the water and are anchored to the bottom of a pond, lake or the like by individual weights.
In recent years, various types of decoy holder assemblies have been devised for deploying a plurality of decoys. The decoys are connected to a common support, such as a center plate or block, which keeps the decoys spread apart from one another while floating on top of the water. The assembly can be anchored using only a single weight and can be easily removed from the water without detaching the decoys.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,313 to Bauernfeind et al. discloses a decoy holder assembly including a central plate and a plurality of connecting rods pivotally mounted to the plate. The connecting rods are held in spaced apart arrangement by a plurality of spreader bars attached to the rods. However, this arrangement is complicated and expensive and does not allow the connecting rods to pivot freely about the central plate for ease in deploying and removing the decoys.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,200 to Milan discloses a similar arrangement for a decoy holder in which the connecting rods are hingeably attached to a center plate but in which the rods are restricted to movement between a position outwardly extending from the plate to a position directly below the plate. Due to this restricted movement of the connecting rods, it is necessary to assemble the whole decoy holder before it can be deployed in the water.
It is an important object of the invention to provide an improved decoy holder assembly which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved decoy holder assembly which is easy to deploy and remove from the water.
Still another object is to provide an improved decoy holder assembly which allows the connecting rods to pivot freely about the center support and which enables the holder to be assembled while it is being deployed in the water.